As disclosed in Japanese Kokai No. 62-126159 (Yamauchi et al.), it is known that arylacetonitriles are useful as pharmaceutical and agricultural intermediates. Such nitriles may be prepared by known process like those taught by Yamauchi et al., Tokutake (Japanese Kokai 52-111536), Palecek et al. (Czechoslovakian Certificate of Authorship 219,752), and Dowd et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,270). However, there is a need for a more convenient process.